Trade unionists and activists in flood-hit Sudan : we need just transition away from fossil fuels now

We are publishing this appeal from two important coalitions of campaigns and trade union activists in Sudan, urgning British unions to stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan as they face the worsening effects of climate change. Devastating floods have recently ripped through the country.

From : The Alliance for Demand-Based Campaigns (TAM) and the Sudanese Workers Alliance for the Restoration of Trade Unions

To : British Unions at the TUC Congress 2024

Sudan has been hit by a series of security, environmental, and climate disasters, food shortages, and other crises at a scale and severity unparalleled anywhere else in the world. While these disasters have intensified recently, they are the result of long-standing issues that neither local efforts nor international attempts have been able to prevent or mitigate, possibly due to a failure to properly assess the risks.

In the past month (August 2024), vast regions of central, northern, eastern, and western Sudan have been devastated by unprecedented and unseasonal rainfall and floods. Some areas experienced "black rain" in the west and "acid rain" in the north, accompanied by clouds and dust storms laden with clinker dust from cement production, smoke, carbon and sulphur oxides, nitrogen, hydrology, lead, and other pollutants.

Furthermore, the floods carried pollutants from mining activities, including cyanide and mercury. The severity and extent of these floods were exacerbated by widespread soil dredging for mining, which has encroached upon natural watercourses, altering their paths in some locations.

Additionally, the construction of dams without considering their climatic and environmental impacts on the Nile River’s course has caused significant climate change, forcing residents of northern Sudan to change their agricultural economic activities.

In light of the global climate crisis and Sudan’s multiple crises, we stand in solidarity with workers in Britain and around the world, recognizing our shared fate and concern for all the world’s inhabitants.

We believe that the new British government can foster a green economy, create new jobs, and contribute to addressing the climate crisis through a series of essential steps to improve the labour market and tackle environmental challenges. These steps include investing in renewable energy, creating new jobs, promoting environmental sustainability, encouraging innovation and clean technologies, upgrading green infrastructure in transportation and construction, supporting affected workers, and providing training and retraining programs for workers displaced from polluting industries to transition to new jobs in the green economy.

This should be accompanied by the implementation of strict environmental policies, encouraging investment in research, education, and training focused on the skills needed in the green economy.

We in the labour movement and the demand-based movement in Sudan recognise and warn of the direct impacts of the climate crisis on the working class and labour unions worldwide, as well as the effects of climate change on working conditions, the labour market, and public health. This drives us to propose urgent measures regarding “fossil fuels” and leadership to achieve positive changes to mitigate the climate crisis’s impacts on the working class and promote a transition to a more sustainable economy. These measures include :

– Adopting policies for the gradual reduction of fossil fuels and emissions by encouraging the transition to renewable energy sources.

– Updating environmental legislation.

– Supporting a just transition.

– Establishing specialised educational and training programs.

– Strengthening investment in sustainable infrastructure.

– Empowering environmental leadership and adopting eco-friendly practices.

– Improving energy efficiency and recycling to reduce the environmental impact of economic activities.

We believe that solidarity among unions worldwide is essential to achieve a just transition away from the use of "fossil fuels" and to promote sustainable economic transformation, through a clear path to achieving this goal that includes international cooperation and building global alliances between unions to exchange knowledge and expertise on best practices and successful strategies. This cross-border cooperation can multiply the joint impact and support the call for just climate policies, strengthen the negotiating position on fundamental workers’ rights, while emphasizing the fundamental principle of guaranteeing and protecting workers’ rights in all economic transformation strategies in the "new industrial system" and supporting and strengthening public investments. This should be accompanied by continued cooperation with the private sector on workers’ rights, raising the role of oversight and accountability, and monitoring the implementation of environmental policies to ensure their commitment to social and economic justice.

We also rely on the role of unions in monitoring and analysing the impact of policies on workers and communities.

In conclusion, through solidarity and collective action, unions can effectively contribute to achieving a just and sustainable transition to a low-carbon economy, protecting workers’ rights, ensuring job opportunities in a safe environment, and promoting economic growth.

Source from https://menasolidaritynetwork.com/